Hello, my name is...

July 24, 2016 1:16 PM

Dr Kate Granger has died at the age of 34, three years after a hospital stay with post-operative sepsis prompoted her to start the "Hello, my name is..." campaign. The campaign has now spread across the entire NHS, and out of this has also come the Kate Granger Compassionate Care Awards. She wrote two books and a blog, as well as tweeting about her experiences as a doctor becoming a patient, and having terminal cancer. Three days before she died, she hit her fundraising target for the Leeds Cancer Centre.

You can see her and her husband discussing their experiences for Dying Matters two years ago.

In a long interview for Cancerworld published earlier this month, she said, “If I knew I were to die tomorrow, I’d feel proud of #hellomynameis, how far we’ve come with it, and how hard we’ve worked on it. And I’m proud of things outside health. I’m proud of those little people there,” (she points at the picture of her nephew and niece) “and I’ll always be the doting aunty who buys too many presents.”

posted by Vortisaur (17 comments total)

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I followed her on Twitter for years, she was an amazing person and her loss will be keenly felt.
posted by sonika at 1:44 PM on July 24, 2016

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posted by Fizz at 2:02 PM on July 24, 2016

Reading about the Kate Granger Compassionate Care Awards has made me tear up. One of the winners this year was Harvey's Gang: Seriously ill "children are ‘Trainee Biomedical Scientists’ for the day, just like Harvey. They can see and meet the machines and the scientists that test their blood. They can ask questions, look at their own blood cells through a microscope and the children and families can get further information from the experts."

What a wonderful legacy to leave behind.

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posted by ChuraChura at 2:06 PM on July 24, 2016 [3 favorites]

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posted by mumimor at 2:33 PM on July 24, 2016

So sad to hear about this - I didn't know her personally but we have mutual colleagues, and used the same medical discussion boards. She was such an incredibly strong person and achieved so much over the past few years. Genuinely fantastic doctor as well, from what I've heard.
posted by tinkletown at 2:53 PM on July 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

. too soon
posted by puddledork at 3:24 PM on July 24, 2016

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posted by xingcat at 3:30 PM on July 24, 2016

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posted by Kangaroo at 3:49 PM on July 24, 2016

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posted by discopolo at 3:56 PM on July 24, 2016

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posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 5:09 PM on July 24, 2016

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posted by allthinky at 5:25 PM on July 24, 2016

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posted by cotton dress sock at 8:22 PM on July 24, 2016

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posted by orangutan at 9:50 PM on July 24, 2016

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posted by Mister Bijou at 9:56 PM on July 24, 2016

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posted by Autumn Leaf at 12:08 AM on July 25, 2016

Oh poop. She was great. I followed her on twitter but wasn't across the current state of her illness. Poop. What a sad loss. Humanising patient/clinician interaction is fundamental to dignity in life and death in hospitals. She really made a difference.
posted by taff at 12:20 AM on July 25, 2016

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posted by Defying Gravity at 4:28 AM on July 25, 2016